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First Results from the CHARA Array. IV. The Interferometric Radii of Low-Mass Stars
We have measured the angular diameters of six M dwarfs with the CHARAArray, a long-baseline optical interferometer located at Mount WilsonObservatory. Spectral types range from M1.0 V to M3.0 V and linear radiifrom 0.38 to 0.69 Rsolar. These results are consistent withthe seven other M dwarf radii measurements from optical interferometryand with those for 14 stars in eclipsing binary systems. We compare alldirectly measured M dwarf radii to model predictions and find thatcurrent models underestimate the true stellar radii by up to 15%-20%.The differences are small among the metal-poor stars but becomesignificantly larger with increasing metallicity. This suggests thattheoretical models for low-mass stars may be missing some opacity sourcethat alters the computed stellar radii.
| Ca II H and K Chromospheric Emission Lines in Late-K and M Dwarfs
We have measured the profiles of the Ca II H and K chromosphericemission lines in 147 main-sequence stars of spectral type M5-K7 (masses0.30-0.55 Msolar) using multiple high-resolution spectraobtained during 6 years with the HIRES spectrometer on the Keck Itelescope. Remarkably, the average FWHM, equivalent widths, and lineluminosities of Ca II H and K increase by a factor of 3 with increasingstellar mass over this small range of stellar masses. We fit the Ca II Hand K lines with a double-Gaussian model to represent both thechromospheric emission and the non-LTE central absorption. Most of thesample stars display a central absorption that is typically redshiftedby ~0.1 km s-1 relative to the emission. This implies thatthe higher level, lower density chromospheric material has a smalleroutward velocity (or higher inward velocity) by 0.1 km s-1than the lower level material in the chromosphere, but the nature ofthis velocity gradient remains unknown. The FWHM of the Ca II H and Kemission lines increase with stellar luminosity, reminiscent of theWilson-Bappu effect in FGK-type stars. Both the equivalent widths andFWHM exhibit modest temporal variability in individual stars. At a givenvalue of MV, stars exhibit a spread in both the equivalentwidth and FWHM of Ca II H and K, due both to a spread in fundamentalstellar parameters, including rotation rate, age, and possiblymetallicity, and to the spread in stellar mass at a given MV.The K line is consistently wider than the H line, as expected, and itscentral absorption is more redshifted, indicating that the H and K linesform at slightly different heights in the chromosphere where thevelocities are slightly different. The equivalent width of Hαcorrelates with Ca II H and K only for stars having Ca II equivalentwidths above ~2 Å, suggesting the existence of a magneticthreshold above which the lower and upper chromospheres become thermallycoupled.Based on observations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which isoperated jointly by the University of California and the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology. Keck time has been granted by both NASA and theUniversity of California.
| Simulating observable comets. III. Real stellar perturbers of the Oort cloud and their output
Context: .This is the third of a series of papers on simulating themechanisms acting currently on the Oort cloud and producing the observedlong-period comets.Aims.In this paper we investigate the influence ofcurrent stellar perturbers on the Oort cloud of comets under thesimultaneous galactic disk tide. We also analyse the past motion of theobserved long-period comets under the same dynamical model to verify thewidely used definition of dynamically new comets. Methods.The action ofnearby stars and the galactic disk tide on the Oort cloud was simulated.The original orbital elements of all 386 long-period comets of qualityclasses 1 and 2 were calculated, and their motion was followednumerically for one orbital revolution into the past, down to theprevious perihelion. We also simulated the output of the close futurepass of GJ 710 through the Oort cloud. Results.The simulated flux of theobservable comets resulting from the current stellar and galacticperturbations, as well as the distribution of perihelion direction, wasobtained. The same data are presented for the future passage of GJ 710.A detailed description is given of the past evolution of aphelion andperihelion distances of the observed long-period comets. Conclusions. Weobtained no fingerprints of the stellar perturbations in the simulatedflux and its directional structure. The mechanisms producing observablecomets are highly dominated by galactic disk tide because all currentstellar perturbers are too weak. Also the effect of the close passage ofthe star GJ 710 is very difficult to recognise on the background of theGalactic-driven observable comets. For the observed comets we found only45 to be really dynamically "new" according to our definition based onthe previous perihelion distance value.
| Calibrating M Dwarf Metallicities Using Molecular Indices
We report progress in the calibration of a method to determine cooldwarf star metallicities using molecular band strength indices. Themolecular band index to metallicity relation can be calibrated usingchemical abundances calculated from atomic-line equivalent widthmeasurements in high-resolution spectra. Building on previous work, wehave measured Fe and Ti abundances in 32 additional M and K dwarf starsto extend the range of temperature and metallicity covered. A test ofour analysis method using warm star-cool star binaries shows we cancalculate reliable abundances for stars warmer than 3500 K. We have usedabundance measurements for warmer binary or cluster companions toestimate abundances in six additional cool dwarfs. Adding stars measuredin our previous work and others from the literature provides 76 starswith Fe abundance and CaH2 and TiO5 index measurements. The CaH2molecular index is directly correlated with temperature. TiO5 depends ontemperature and metallicity. Metallicity can be estimated to within+/-0.3 dex within the bounds of our calibration, which extends fromroughly [Fe/H]=+0.05 to -1.0, with a limited extension to -1.5.
| Ages of White Dwarf-Red Subdwarf Systems
We provide the first age estimates for two recently discovered whitedwarf-red subdwarf systems, LHS 193AB and LHS 300AB. These unusualsystems provide a new opportunity for linking the reliable age estimatesfor the white dwarfs to the (measurable) metallicities of the redsubdwarfs. We have obtained precise photometry in theVJRKCIKCJH bands and spectroscopycovering from 6000 to 9000 Å for the two new systems, as well asfor a comparison white dwarf-main-sequence red dwarf system, GJ 283 AB.Using model grids available in the literature, we estimate the coolingages, as well as temperatures, surface gravities, masses, progenitormasses, and total lifetimes of the white dwarfs. The results indicatethat the two new systems are probably ancient thick-disk objects withages of at least 6-9 Gyr. We also conduct searches of red dwarf andwhite dwarf compendia from SDSS data, Lépine Shara Proper Motion(LSPM) catalog, and Chanamé & Gould for additional commonproper motion white dwarf-red subdwarf systems. Only seven new candidatesystems are found, which indicates the rarity of these systems.
| Calibrating models of ultralow-mass stars
Evolutionary and atmospheric models have become available for youngultralow-mass objects. These models are being used to determinefundamental parameters from observational properties. TiO bands are usedto determine effective temperatures in ultralow-mass objects, andtogether with Na- and K-lines to derive gravities at the substellarboundary. Unfortunately, model calibrations in (young) ultralow-massobjects are rare. As a first step towards a calibration of syntheticspectral features, I show molecular bands of TiO, which is a mainopacity source in late M-dwarfs. The TiO \epsilon-band at 8450Å issystematically too weak. This implies that temperatures determined fromthat band are underestimated, and I discuss implications for determiningfundamental parameters from high resolution spectra.
| Metallicity of M dwarfs. I. A photometric calibration and the impact on the mass-luminosity relation at the bottom of the main sequence
We obtained high resolution ELODIE and CORALIE spectra for bothcomponents of 20 wide visual binaries composed of an F-, G- or K-dwarfprimary and an M-dwarf secondary. We analyse the well-understood spectraof the primaries to determine metallicities ([Fe/H]) for these 20systems, and hence for their M dwarf components. We pool thesemetallicities with determinations from the literature to obtain aprecise (±0.2 dex) photometric calibration of M dwarfmetallicities. This calibration represents a breakthrough in a fieldwhere discussions have had to remain largely qualitative, and it helpsus demonstrate that metallicity explains most of the large dispersion inthe empirical V-band mass-luminosity relation. We examine themetallicity of the two known M-dwarf planet-host stars, Gl876 (+0.02 dex) and Gl 436 (-0.03 dex), inthe context of preferential planet formation around metal-rich stars. Wefinally determine the metallicity of the 47 brightest single M dwarfs ina volume-limited sample, and compare the metallicity distributions ofsolar-type and M-dwarf stars in the solar neighbourhood.
| A study of Kapteyn's star
We present a review of the current knowledge of Kapteyn's Star (KS) - anearby, low-metallicity M-dwarf, with an eccentric and retrogradeGalactic orbit. A brief survey of its spectroscopic properties isprovided, together with an analysis of its Galactic orbit in a Galaxymodel that incorporates resonances. We propose that KS may have oncebelonged to a dwarf spheroidal galaxy that merged with the Galaxy, andwhose present remnant, if it still exists, is a globular cluster similarto ω Cen.
| Probing the LHS Catalog. II. Faint Proper-Motion Stars
We present low-resolution spectroscopic observations of faintproper-motion stars from the LHS Catalogue, concentrating on stars withmr>16.5 and μ>0.5" yr-1. The presentpaper includes observations and spectral classifications for 294 Mdwarfs, M subdwarfs (sdM), and extreme M subdwarfs (esdM). We alsoidentify white dwarfs among the faintest LHS stars. We havecross-referenced this sample against the Two Micron All Sky Survey(2MASS) sources, and list data for the detected objects. We discussstars of individual interest, as well as the characteristics of theoverall sample. As expected, a significant number of the stars in thisproper-motion-selected sample are halo subdwarfs, including an esdMdwarf, LHS 3481, that is likely to lie within 20 pc of the Sun. None ofthe subdwarfs show Hα emission.
| Statistical Constraints for Astrometric Binaries with Nonlinear Motion
Useful constraints on the orbits and mass ratios of astrometric binariesin the Hipparcos catalog are derived from the measured proper motiondifferences of Hipparcos and Tycho-2 (Δμ), accelerations ofproper motions (μ˙), and second derivatives of proper motions(μ̈). It is shown how, in some cases, statistical bounds can beestimated for the masses of the secondary components. Two catalogs ofastrometric binaries are generated, one of binaries with significantproper motion differences and the other of binaries with significantaccelerations of their proper motions. Mathematical relations betweenthe astrometric observables Δμ, μ˙, and μ̈ andthe orbital elements are derived in the appendices. We find a remarkabledifference between the distribution of spectral types of stars withlarge accelerations but small proper motion differences and that ofstars with large proper motion differences but insignificantaccelerations. The spectral type distribution for the former sample ofbinaries is the same as the general distribution of all stars in theHipparcos catalog, whereas the latter sample is clearly dominated bysolar-type stars, with an obvious dearth of blue stars. We point outthat the latter set includes mostly binaries with long periods (longerthan about 6 yr).
| Astrophysics in 2004
In this 14th edition of ApXX,1 we bring you the Sun (§ 2) and Stars(§ 4), the Moon and Planets (§ 3), a truly binary pulsar(§ 5), a kinematic apology (§ 6), the whole universe(§§ 7 and 8), reconsideration of old settled (§ 9) andunsettled (§ 10) issues, and some things that happen only on Earth,some indeed only in these reviews (§§ 10 and 11).
| A planet-sized transiting star around OGLE-TR-122. Accurate mass and radius near the hydrogen-burning limit
We report the discovery and characterisation of OGLE-TR-122b, thesmallest main-sequence star to date with a direct radius determination.OGLE-TR-122b transits around its solar-type primary every 7.3-days. WithM=0.092±0.009 M_ȯ andR=0.120+0.020-0.013 R_ȯ, it is by far thesmallest known eclipsing M-dwarf. The derived mass and radius forOGLE-TR-122b are in agreement with the theoretical expectations.OGLE-TR-122b is the first observational evidence that stars can indeedhave radii comparable or even smaller than giant planets. In such cases,the photometric signal is exactly that of a transiting planet and thetrue nature of the companion can only be determined with high-resolutionspectroscopy.Based on observations collected with the VLT/UT2 Kueyen telescope(Paranal Observatory, ESO, Chile) using the FLAMES+UVES spectrograph(program ID 072.C-191).
| CHARM2: An updated Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements
We present an update of the Catalog of High Angular ResolutionMeasurements (CHARM, Richichi & Percheron \cite{CHARM}, A&A,386, 492), which includes results available until July 2004. CHARM2 is acompilation of direct measurements by high angular resolution methods,as well as indirect estimates of stellar diameters. Its main goal is toprovide a reference list of sources which can be used for calibrationand verification observations with long-baseline optical and near-IRinterferometers. Single and binary stars are included, as are complexobjects from circumstellar shells to extragalactic sources. The presentupdate provides an increase of almost a factor of two over the previousedition. Additionally, it includes several corrections and improvements,as well as a cross-check with the valuable public release observationsof the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). A total of 8231entries for 3238 unique sources are now present in CHARM2. Thisrepresents an increase of a factor of 3.4 and 2.0, respectively, overthe contents of the previous version of CHARM.The catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/431/773
| Metallicity measurements using atomic lines in M and K dwarf stars
We report the first survey of chemical abundances in M and K dwarf starsusing atomic absorption lines in high-resolution spectra. We havemeasured Fe and Ti abundances in 35 M and K dwarf stars using equivalentwidths measured from λ/Δλ~ 33000 spectra. Ouranalysis takes advantage of recent improvements in model atmospheres oflow-temperature dwarf stars. The stars have temperatures between 3300and 4700 K, with most cooler than 4100 K. They cover an iron abundancerange of -2.44 < [Fe/H] < +0.16. Our measurements show [Ti/Fe]decreasing with increasing [Fe/H], a trend similar to that measured forwarmer stars, where abundance analysis techniques have been tested morethoroughly. This study is a step towards the observational calibrationof procedures to estimate the metallicity of low-mass dwarf stars usingphotometric and low-resolution spectral indices.
| Improved Baade-Wesselink surface brightness relations
Recent, and older accurate, data on (limb-darkened) angular diameters iscompiled for 221 stars, as well as BVRIJK[12][25] magnitudes for thoseobjects, when available. Nine stars (all M-giants or supergiants)showing excess in the [12-25] colour are excluded from the analysis asthis may indicate the presence of dust influencing the optical andnear-infrared colours as well. Based on this large sample,Baade-Wesselink surface brightness (SB) relations are presented fordwarfs, giants, supergiants and dwarfs in the optical and near-infrared.M-giants are found to follow different SB relations from non-M-giants,in particular in V versus V-R. The preferred relation for non-M-giantsis compared to the earlier relation by Fouqué and Gieren (basedon 10 stars) and Nordgren et al. (based on 57 stars). Increasing thesample size does not lead to a lower rms value. It is shown that theresiduals do not correlate with metallicity at a significant level. Thefinally adopted observed angular diameters are compared to thosepredicted by Cohen et al. for 45 stars in common, and there isreasonable overall, and good agreement when θ < 6 mas.Finally, I comment on the common practice in the literature to average,and then fix, the zero-point of the V versus V-K, V versus V-R and Kversus J-K relations, and then rederive the slopes. Such a commonzero-point at zero colour is not expected from model atmospheres for theV-R colour and depends on gravity. Relations derived in this way may bebiased.
| Near-Ultraviolet Spectra of Nine M Dwarf Stars, or a Second Effort to Find Optical Coronal Lines in M Dwarf Stars
We have searched for optical coronal lines in the 3100-3700 Åregion of eight M dwarf stars with rather low levels of activity. Thisbrief survey supplements a similar search in 15 active stars publishedin 1991. No coronal lines could be identified. However, the emissionspectra including lines of H I, He I, Ca II, Ca I, Si I, and Fe I aredescribed and illustrated. Radial velocities of the emission lines showno systematic differences from the stellar absorption lines. Coronaewith temperatures similar to those in the solar corona seem to be rareamong the M dwarfs, although at least one example has been found bySchmitt & Wichmann.
| Chromospheric Ca II Emission in Nearby F, G, K, and M Stars
We present chromospheric Ca II H and K activity measurements, rotationperiods, and ages for ~1200 F, G, K, and M type main-sequence stars from~18,000 archival spectra taken at Keck and Lick Observatories as a partof the California and Carnegie Planet Search Project. We have calibratedour chromospheric S-values against the Mount Wilson chromosphericactivity data. From these measurements we have calculated medianactivity levels and derived R'HK, stellar ages,and rotation periods from general parameterizations for 1228 stars,~1000 of which have no previously published S-values. We also presentprecise time series of activity measurements for these stars.Based on observations obtained at Lick Observatory, which is operated bythe University of California, and on observations obtained at the W. M.Keck Observatory, which is operated jointly by the University ofCalifornia and the California Institute of Technology. The KeckObservatory was made possible by the generous financial support of theW. M. Keck Foundation.
| Chemical abundance analysis of Kapteyn's Star
We report spectral chemical abundances for 12 elements in Kapteyn's Star(HD 33793), a subdwarf M star. We use stellar temperature and gravityparameters derived using the recent interferometric measurement of itsradius. We find [Fe/H]=-1.13 +/- 0.01, [Ti/H]=-0.90 +/- 0.03, and aweighted mean metallicity [M/H]=-0.98 +/- 0.10, where the uncertaintiesin temperature, gravity and microturbulence are included in the latter.This value falls about mid-way between the metallicity found in the onlyprevious high-resolution analysis, [M/H]=-0.55 +/- 0.15, and the valuederived from low-resolution spectra of TiO and CaH features, [M/H]=-1.5+/- 0.5. It is essentially identical to that found using low-resolutioninfrared spectra of water lines, [M/H]=-1.0 +/- 0.3. This abundancedetermination for a nearby subdwarf M star using well-determined stellarparameters and a spectrum with a high signal-to-noise ratio will providean anchor point for abundance studies of similar stars where thesituation is not so favourable.
| The Geneva-Copenhagen survey of the Solar neighbourhood. Ages, metallicities, and kinematic properties of 14 000 F and G dwarfs
We present and discuss new determinations of metallicity, rotation, age,kinematics, and Galactic orbits for a complete, magnitude-limited, andkinematically unbiased sample of 16 682 nearby F and G dwarf stars. Our63 000 new, accurate radial-velocity observations for nearly 13 500stars allow identification of most of the binary stars in the sampleand, together with published uvbyβ photometry, Hipparcosparallaxes, Tycho-2 proper motions, and a few earlier radial velocities,complete the kinematic information for 14 139 stars. These high-qualityvelocity data are supplemented by effective temperatures andmetallicities newly derived from recent and/or revised calibrations. Theremaining stars either lack Hipparcos data or have fast rotation. Amajor effort has been devoted to the determination of new isochrone agesfor all stars for which this is possible. Particular attention has beengiven to a realistic treatment of statistical biases and errorestimates, as standard techniques tend to underestimate these effectsand introduce spurious features in the age distributions. Our ages agreewell with those by Edvardsson et al. (\cite{edv93}), despite severalastrophysical and computational improvements since then. We demonstrate,however, how strong observational and theoretical biases cause thedistribution of the observed ages to be very different from that of thetrue age distribution of the sample. Among the many basic relations ofthe Galactic disk that can be reinvestigated from the data presentedhere, we revisit the metallicity distribution of the G dwarfs and theage-metallicity, age-velocity, and metallicity-velocity relations of theSolar neighbourhood. Our first results confirm the lack of metal-poor Gdwarfs relative to closed-box model predictions (the ``G dwarfproblem''), the existence of radial metallicity gradients in the disk,the small change in mean metallicity of the thin disk since itsformation and the substantial scatter in metallicity at all ages, andthe continuing kinematic heating of the thin disk with an efficiencyconsistent with that expected for a combination of spiral arms and giantmolecular clouds. Distinct features in the distribution of the Vcomponent of the space motion are extended in age and metallicity,corresponding to the effects of stochastic spiral waves rather thanclassical moving groups, and may complicate the identification ofthick-disk stars from kinematic criteria. More advanced analyses of thisrich material will require careful simulations of the selection criteriafor the sample and the distribution of observational errors.Based on observations made with the Danish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, LaSilla, Chile, and with the Swiss 1-m telescope at Observatoire deHaute-Provence, France.Complete Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/418/989
| NEXXUS: A comprehensive ROSAT survey of coronal X-ray emission among nearby solar-like stars
We present a final summary of all ROSAT X-ray observations of nearbystars. All available ROSAT observations with the ROSAT PSPC, HRI and WFChave been matched with the CNS4 catalog of nearby stars and the resultsgathered in the Nearby X-ray and XUV-emitting Stars data base, availablevia www from the Home Page of the Hamburger Sternwarte at the URLhttp://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/For/Gal/Xgroup/nexxus. Newvolume-limited samples of F/G-stars (dlim = 14 pc), K-stars(dlim = 12 pc), and M-stars (dlim = 6 pc) areconstructed within which detection rates of more than 90% are obtained;only one star (GJ 1002) remains undetected in a pointed follow-upobservation. F/G-stars, K-stars and M-stars have indistinguishablesurface X-ray flux distributions, and the lower envelope of the observeddistribution at FX ≈ 104 erg/cm2/sis the X-ray flux level observed in solar coronal holes. Large amplitudevariations in X-ray flux are uncommon for solar-like stars, but maybemore common for stars near the bottom of the main sequence; a largeamplitude flare is reported for the M star LHS 288. Long term X-raylight curves are presented for α Cen A/B and Gl 86, showingvariations on time scales of weeks and demonstrating that α Cen Bis a flare star.Tables 1-3 are also available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/417/651
| Harvesting Scientific Results with the VLTI
The ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) has been included forthe first time in the official call for proposals requesting ESOtelescopes for the period starting in April 2004. This marks theofficial start of public interferometric observations open to thecommunity. It is the start of a new approach to interferometry as astandard astronomical technique, and a point of pride and satisfactionfor all the people who have been working with this challenging goal formany years. But it should not be forgotten that the VLTI has alreadylogged over two years of intensive commissioning, as well as someinitial science demonstration runs. Over 16,000 observations of hundredsof objects have been collected and are available publicly over the ESOarchive on the WEB. In 2003, the first scientific results of thisremarkable effort have appeared. Already more than a dozen papers basedon VLTI data have been submitted or accepted by refereed journals, witha similar volume of contributions to workshops and conferences of ascientific nature. We provide here an overview of this early scientificproduction of the VLTI, ranging from the determination of fundamentalparameters of many classes of stars to the first interferometricmeasurement of the inner regions of the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxyNGC 1068.
| Target Selection for SETI. II. Tycho-2 Dwarfs, Old Open Clusters, and the Nearest 100 Stars
We present the full target list and prioritization algorithm developedfor use by the microwave search for technological signals at the SETIInstitute. We have included the Catalog of Nearby Habitable StellarSystems (HabCat, described in Paper I), all of the nearest 100 stars and14 old open clusters. This is further augmented by a subset of theTycho-2 catalog based on reduced proper motions, and this larger catalogshould routinely provide at least three target stars within the largeprimary field of view of the Allen Telescope Array. The algorithm forprioritizing objects in the full target list includes scoring based onthe subset category of each target (i.e., HabCat, cluster, Tycho-2, ornearest 100), its distance (if known), and its proximity to the Sun onthe color-magnitude diagram.
| Improved Astrometry and Photometry for the Luyten Catalog. II. Faint Stars and the Revised Catalog
We complete construction of a catalog containing improved astrometry andnew optical/infrared photometry for the vast majority of NLTT starslying in the overlap of regions covered by POSS I and by the secondincremental Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) release, approximately 44%of the sky. The epoch 2000 positions are typically accurate to 130 mas,the proper motions to 5.5 mas yr-1, and the V-J colors to0.25 mag. Relative proper motions of binary components are measured to 3mas yr-1. The false-identification rate is ~1% for11<~V<~18 and substantially less at brighter magnitudes. Theseimprovements permit the construction of a reduced proper-motion diagramthat, for the first time, allows one to classify NLTT stars intomain-sequence (MS) stars, subdwarfs (SDs), and white dwarfs (WDs). We inturn use this diagram to analyze the properties of both our catalog andthe NLTT catalog on which it is based. In sharp contrast to popularbelief, we find that NLTT incompleteness in the plane is almostcompletely concentrated in MS stars, and that SDs and WDs are detectedalmost uniformly over the sky δ>-33deg. Our catalogwill therefore provide a powerful tool to probe these populationsstatistically, as well as to reliably identify individual SDs and WDs.
| First radius measurements of very low mass stars with the VLTI
We present 4 very low mass stars radii measured with the VLTI using the2.2 mu m VINCI test instrument. The observations were carried out duringthe commissioning of the 104-meter-baseline with two 8-meter-telescopes.We measure angular diameters of 0.7-1.5 mas with accuracies of 0.04-0.11mas, and for spectral type ranging from M0V to M5.5V. We determine anempirical mass-radius relation for M dwarfs based on all availableradius measurements. The observed relation agrees well with theoreticalmodels at the present accuracy level, with possible discrepancy around0.5-0.8 Msun that needs to be confirmed. In the near future,dozens of M dwarfs radii will be measured with 0.1-1% accuracy, with theVLTI, thanks to the improvements expected from the near infraredinstrument AMBER. This will bring strong observational constraints onboth atmosphere and interior physics.Based on observations made with the European Southern Observatorytelescopes and obtained from the ESO/ST-ECF Science Archive Facility.
| Hipparcos red stars in the HpV_T2 and V I_C systems
For Hipparcos M, S, and C spectral type stars, we provide calibratedinstantaneous (epoch) Cousins V - I color indices using newly derivedHpV_T2 photometry. Three new sets of ground-based Cousins V I data havebeen obtained for more than 170 carbon and red M giants. These datasetsin combination with the published sources of V I photometry served toobtain the calibration curves linking Hipparcos/Tycho Hp-V_T2 with theCousins V - I index. In total, 321 carbon stars and 4464 M- and S-typestars have new V - I indices. The standard error of the mean V - I isabout 0.1 mag or better down to Hp~9 although it deteriorates rapidly atfainter magnitudes. These V - I indices can be used to verify thepublished Hipparcos V - I color indices. Thus, we have identified ahandful of new cases where, instead of the real target, a random fieldstar has been observed. A considerable fraction of the DMSA/C and DMSA/Vsolutions for red stars appear not to be warranted. Most likely suchspurious solutions may originate from usage of a heavily biased color inthe astrometric processing.Based on observations from the Hipparcos astrometric satellite operatedby the European Space Agency (ESA 1997).}\fnmsep\thanks{Table 7 is onlyavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/397/997
| The radii and spectra of the nearest stars
We discuss direct measurements of the radii of 36 stars located closerthan 25 parsecs to the Sun. We present the data on 307 radii and 326spectral types and luminosity classes for the nearest stars locatedinside the sphere with a radius of 10 parsecs.
| Radial Velocities for 889 Late-Type Stars
We report radial velocities for 844 FGKM-type main-sequence and subgiantstars and 45 K giants, most of which had either low-precision velocitymeasurements or none at all. These velocities differ from the standardstars of Udry et al. by 0.035 km s-1 (rms) for the 26 FGKstandard stars in common. The zero point of our velocities differs fromthat of Udry et al.: =+0.053km s-1. Thus, these new velocities agree with the best knownstandard stars both in precision and zero point, to well within 0.1 kms-1. Nonetheless, both these velocities and the standardssuffer from three sources of systematic error, namely, convectiveblueshift, gravitational redshift, and spectral type mismatch of thereference spectrum. These systematic errors are here forced to be zerofor G2 V stars by using the Sun as reference, with Vesta and day sky asproxies. But for spectral types departing from solar, the systematicerrors reach 0.3 km s-1 in the F and K stars and 0.4 kms-1 in M dwarfs. Multiple spectra were obtained for all 889stars during 4 years, and 782 of them exhibit velocity scatter less than0.1 km s-1. These stars may serve as radial velocitystandards if they remain constant in velocity. We found 11 newspectroscopic binaries and report orbital parameters for them. Based onobservations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operatedjointly by the University of California and the California Institute ofTechnology, and on observations obtained at the Lick Observatory, whichis operated by the University of California.
| UBV(RI)C photometry of Hipparcos red stars
We present homogeneous and standardized UBV(RI)C photometryfor nearly 550 M stars selected from the Hipparcos satellite data baseusing the following selection criteria: lack of obvious variability (noHipparcos variability flag); δ<+10°(V-I)>1.7 and Vmagnitude fainter than about 7.6. Comparisons are made between thecurrent photometry, other ground-based data sets and Hipparcosphotometry. We use linear discriminant analysis to determine aluminosity segregation criterion for late-type stars, and principalcomponent analysis to study the statistical structure of the colourindices and to calibrate absolute magnitude in terms of (V-I) for thedwarf stars. Various methods are used to determine the mean absolutemagnitude of the giant stars. We find 10 dwarf stars, apparentlypreviously unrecognized (prior to Hipparcos) as being within 25pc,including five within 20pc.
| H2O and HDO Bands in the Spectra of Late-Type Dwarfs
We discuss techniques and results of computations of the infraredspectra of late-type dwarfs. Our computations of the synthetic spectraand spectral energy distributions in the infrared (λλ 1 10µm) were carried out assuming LTE, using the grids of M-andL-dwarf model atmospheres of Allard and Hauschildt (1995) and Tsuji(1998), taking into account the opacities due to H2O and HDO absorptionbands. We discuss the use of HDO bands formed in the infrared spectra ofcool dwarfs to realize the “deuterium test” recentlyproposed for the identi fication of substellar-mass objects and largeplanets and to refine scenarios for the evolution of young stars andsubstellar objects.
| Revised Coordinates and Proper Motions of the Stars in the Luyten Half-Second Catalog
We present refined coordinates and proper-motion data for the highproper-motion (HPM) stars in the Luyten Half-Second (LHS) catalog. Thepositional uncertainty in the original Luyten catalog is typicallygreater than 10" and is often greater than 30". We have used the digitalscans of the POSS I and POSS II plates to derive more accurate positionsand proper motions of the objects. Out of the 4470 candidates in the LHScatalog, 4323 objects were manually reidentified in the POSS I and POSSII scans. A small fraction of the stars were not found because of thelack of finder charts and digitized POSS II scans. The uncertainties inthe revised positions are typically ~2" but can be as high as ~8" in afew cases, which is a large improvement over the original data.Cross-correlation with the Tycho-2 and Hipparcos catalogs yielded 819candidates (with mR<~12). For these brighter sources, theposition and proper-motion data were replaced with the more accurateTycho-2/Hipparcos data. In total, we have revised proper-motionmeasurements and coordinates for 4040 stars and revised coordinates for4330 stars. The electronic version of the paper5 contains the updated information on all 4470stars in the LHS catalog.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Pictor |
| Right ascension: | 05h11m40.61s |
| Declination: | -45°01'06.7" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.874 |
| Distance: | 3.918 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 6544.2 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -5774.3 |
| B-T magnitude: | 10.792 |
| V-T magnitude: | 9.033 |
Catalogs and designations:
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